Crashes a Cause For Concern Along Busy Dallas Street

An Oak Cliff man is concerned that drivers are treating the stretch of South Hampton Road in front of his home like a race track, complete with the car crashes. (Published Wednesday, May 3, 2017)

An Oak Cliff man is concerned that drivers are treating the stretch of South Hampton Road in front of his home like a race track, complete with the car crashes.

“Pulling out of my driveway is incredibly stressful,” said Nestor Estrada, who lives in the Hampton Hills neighborhood along the 1500 block of S. Hampton, a six lane, divided boulevard. “I just get this gut feeling inside that something is going to get [me.]”

Estrada’s gut feeling is not paranoia; someone rear-ended him as he attempted to slow down and pull into his driveway, which is perpendicular to the road, in late 2015.

In recent weeks, Estrada has witnessed further evidence that he believes is proof his concern about speeding drivers is legitimate.

There have been at least four separate crashes along a three block stretch of S. Hampton in approximately two weeks: a vehicle crashed through a neighbor’s fence and into their backyard, a truck hit a utility pole, an SUV hit a large tree in grass median and two cars hit one another while jockeying for position in the northbound lanes.

“That’s just a little too much,” said Estrada, who photographed each incident. “My neighbor parked cars down the driveway to make sure that if anybody runs [off of the road] they get the cars instead of coming into the house.”

Estrada said he will now look to the City of Dallas for help, and he will begin with a request through the 311 system for the installation of a radar feedback sign, which displays the posted speed limit as well as a digital display of the speed of the cars traveling past the sign.

“If the speed study reveals that the 85th percentile speed (speed at or below which 85 percent of the traffic is traveling) is 7 MPH or above the posted speed limit and there are at least three speed-related accidents in a one-year period, staff will install a radar feedback sign,” the spokesperson noted in a statement.

There are approximately 15 to 25 radar feedback signs currently in operation across Dallas, according to the city spokesperson.